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Hurricane Katrina
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Saturday, September 10, 2005 <br /> <br />Train lined up to help food bank send aid south <br /> <br />In Katrina's Wake <br />Special section has stories about how Mainers are helping victims of Hurrican Katrina. <br /> <br />AUBURN — Two railroad cars loaded with 200,000 pounds of food, water and supplies will pull out from a warehouse Monday, destined for the Gulf Coast to help hurricane victims. Charles "Budd" Large, executive director of the Good Shepherd Food Bank, said a three-day campaign for bottled-water donations last week at the Maine Mall netted enough bottled water to fill six tractor-trailers. <br /> <br />The problem was finding a way to get the water from the food bank's warehouse in Auburn to those in need nearly 1,500 miles away. <br /> <br />But Large got a call from Bob Drake at Safe Handling, a chemical manufacturing and distribution company. Drake wanted to know whether there was some way his company could help with relief from Hurricane Katrina. <br /> <br />"You don't happen to have six tractor-trailers sitting around, do you?" asked Large. "He said 'No, but let me make a call.' " <br /> <br />Drake contacted the St. Lawrence and Atlantic Railroad, which has a spur from its line that leads directly into Safe Handling's warehouse. Together, they worked out a plan to deliver the load by rail. <br /> <br />"I never even considered rails," said Large. "But it's perfect for moving this quantity, this quickly." <br /> <br />The cars will leave Auburn and head to Quebec, then connect with the Canadian National rail system and go to Montreal. They will then go to Chicago and on to Mississippi or Louisiana, whichever is more accessible. <br /> <br />The rail companies will haul the goods at no cost. <br /> <br />"We're proud to help with a good cause like this," said Ed Foley, vice president of sales and marketing for the St. Lawrence and Atlantic. <br /> <br />Besides the bottled water, Good Shepherd will send thousands of pounds of packaged snack foods and cleaning supplies, all priority items. <br /> <br />Once the cars reach their destination, they will be met by trucks from America's Second Harvest, the national food relief organization, and distributed. <br /> <br />The trip will take eight or nine days. Large said that's great, given the urgency. <br /> <br /> <br />From the Portland Herald <br /> <br /> <br />
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